The Princess and the Warrior
by BoredAtWork2011
Summary: AU: Rachel is the Princess of the Kingdom of Lima. When a threat is made against her family she must go into hiding with the tribal women of the forest who's legendary army of Warrios will have to protect her. The head of these Warrios, Quinn Fabray...
1. Chapter 1

The Kingdom of Lima was the centre of the Ohio where the Berry family lived and ruled the land. The Berry dynasty had reigned for over 100 years and through this time had fought to keep their kingdom safe from rebels who wished the kingdom to be returned to the tyrannical Akron Family who had once reined Lima with an iron fist. Throughout the time of the Akron rule the people of Lima lived in fear and poverty. Since the Berry Family overthrew the Akron Family the people of the Kingdom of Lima had lived well and prospered. At this current time the head of the family and the king of the land, Hiram Berry, was a great leader, revered by all. Although he was a stern man with a rough exterior his daughter and partner could crack through this tough facade.

His partner and second in charge was Leroy; he had helped Hiram rule the land for over 20 years. He was much softer than Hiram and was known to be a man of great empathy. Together they balanced each other out to create a successful leadership. Together they had also raised a child and heir to the throne. This child they named Rachel and she was known as one of the great beauties of the land.

In Rachel's17 years she had been groomed with the best education and environment to become the next ruler of the land. However, this meant she had been sheltered for most of her life and rarely went outside the palace walls. Her best friend and closest confidant was her cousin Kurt.

She would also spend time with one of Hiram's young soldiers Finn Hudson when he was in the city walls. It had been decided long ago that Finn would marry Rachel once she turned 18 and was a woman. He too had been groomed to help Rachel take the throne. Rachel didn't mind Finns company and she knew he was an attractive man, admired by many women in the kingdom. She loved him like a brother but didn't feel as though they shared the passionate overwhelming love she had read about in books. She longed for that kind of love.

But Rachel knew it was her great responsibility to marry Finn and be ready to step into the role her father occupied whenever the time came and her want for love was secondary to her duty. Still sometimes late at night when she looked out her window onto the town that surrounded the palace walls she longed for freedom from her birthright.

Rachel was pondering these thoughts on this particular night when her father's came into her room with some urgency.

"Father? Pap? What's wrong?" Rachel knew her father's would always knock before they entered but the fact that they hadn't indicated something was amiss.

"Baby girl sit down, we need to talk with you" Leroy softly led his daughter to the bench at the end of her canopy bed as Hiram paced across the room.

"Your father and I have grave concerns for your safety, we have just received word that direct threats have been made by the rebels against you…I don't mean to scare you honey but they seem to have you in their crosshairs and we don't know if its…"

"Pap, they have made threats against us before and it has always been fine" Rachel rationed

Now was Hiram's time to speak and he did not have the gentle tone of his husband "Rachel, this is serious! It is not safe for you here anymore. Not until we find the people making these threats and stop them!"

"Hiram lower your voice." Leroy said trying to calm Hiram; he knew he was only scared for his beautiful daughter.

Hiram took a deep breath and began again "Rachel this threat is more serious than others. It is a tumultuous time and it is too risky to have you here where you are a sitting duck. This palace is too high profile for you right now"

"But father where would I go? How would I leave you and Pap? I won't go just because those rebels are making threats, then they have won!"

Hiram could see his daughter was frightened but she was like him and could never back down from a fight. He walked over to where her and Leroy sat and crouched down, placing her hands on her knees.

"Rachel you are the future of this land, you are the one who will carry on our legacy and make sure the kingdom never returns to the hands of those monsters. That is why we must hide you…just for a little while, somewhere where they won't think to look…"

"But where father?"

Hiram looked at his husband; they both had decided on a place earlier that day but didn't know how their daughter would take it. Leroy, always the mediator decided to take over for Hiram "Rachel, we have a carriage to take you to the Forrest tonight. We have a good strong relationship with the women of the Forrest and we know they can take care of you and we can trust them..."

Rachel stood up sternly at this news, shaking her father's hands off her.

"That tribe of women who live in the forest like Amazons? I don't think that is going to work so well for me. I have seen how they live, they are warriors who live off the land and I am a princess who has no place with them…they will eat me alive"

Rachel had once met the women on the forest when her father's took her on a royal tour. They had visited the women to thank them for their loyalty to the Berry family throughout their reign. The women were a tribe of strong warrior women who had their own hierarchy and traditions and lived independently in the depths of the kingdoms forest past the city walls. They were known for being secretive of their ways and ferocious when attacked. They lived with no men and often took in runaways from other parts of the land. The leader of this tribe was Judy Fabray, whose mother had ruled before her and whose daughter Quinn would one day take over.

"Rachel, don't be silly, Hiram and I know these women can protect you, they have protected the forest outside this land for generations. Furthermore we can trust they will not reveal your location to anyone. It is only temporary…you will be back here with us before you know it"

"Do I even have a choice" Rachel sighed looking defeated.

Hiram walked up to his daughter and put his hands on her shoulders, looking her directly in the eyes

"No"


	2. Chapter 2

Quinn stood in her mother's hut. Arms crossed and with a stern and serious look on her face. Her mother sat at a stool sharpening a blade. Quinn pulled her hand through her tousled shaggy blonde hair and stomped her foot.

"Mother! This has to be the stupidest idea I have ever heard, why are we letting the princess stay here when there is a price on her head and the whole rebel force is out to get her. What if they find out she is here, do you really think we could defend ourselves against such a force?"

Judy Fabray stood up and walked to her daughter grabbing her wrist firmly.

"Quinn these people have allowed us to survive her for generations. Before the Berry family our kind was slaves to the Akron's. The princess is the only heir, without her the dynasty may fall and we will be driven out of our homes and they will destroy us! We must protect the princess because she is our future."

Quinn pulled her arm back from her mother, sick of the lecture she started making her way out of the hut. Before she reached the opening she turned back to her mother, the head of the tribe.

"She won't last a second here she will expect everything and I will give her nothing, not while she remains here endangering the lives of all our people"

"Quinn, I cannot believe the selfishness I am hearing from you. Don't you understand, if she doesn't survive we are all dead anyway."

Quinn hung her head in frustration, on some level she knew her mother was right but she worried for the people she loved.

Her mother spoke, more gently this time.

"She will come and you will help her get along, no-one will know she is here and she will be gone before we know it. We must do this Quinn, Hiram is a good leader and he will take care of us"

"Fine mother, but I still think this is a stupid idea"

With that the blonde girl left the hut, giving her mother no more opportunity to speak.

As she walked away from her mother's hut still angry at the impending arrival of the princess Quinn was approached by her two best friends, closest confidants and two of her most trusted and capable fellow warriors, Britney and Santana. Santana could see her friend was distressed,

"So she's really coming huh?"

"Yup" Quinn replied bluntly

Britney bounced around in excitement "I can't wait to meet the princess; I hope she lets me touch her wand!"

"Britney, that's a fairy she's not magical" Quinn replied but stopped when she saw the evil glare she was receiving from Santana.

"Brit's Quinns right but that's ok because you and me make all the magic we need" Santana said this while pulling Britney into a kiss.

As the two lovers continued to make out Quinn just rolled her eyes at the all too familiar sight and walked off to begin getting ready for Warrios training.

All the young women in the tribe were Warrios. Fiercely trained warriors charged with the responsibility of protecting the forest land. Quinn was the tribe's best fighter and was in charge keeping to Warrios in line for their commander Sue Sylvester, a harsh but fair leader of the Warrios. She ran a tight ship but because of this the Warrios had managed to keep the forest safe from predators and rebels.

For now most of the Warrios were based in the forest centre, so trainings were frequent and intense to ensure the women stayed on their game. Quinn new she had to get all the women to training base quickly or Sue would make them run through formations all night.


	3. Chapter 3

It was 10pm when Rachel began to see the fire light of the Forrest. She had been travelling in the carriage for five hours as they had to take the back routs to make sure they had not been followed. Only Rachel, her fathers, the carriage driver and her cousin Kurt knew where she was to be. She had asked Kurt to come along for the journey with her as her father's could not risk accompanying their daughter.

"Kurt, what if they hate me? Or worse what if I get them all killed? I cannot be the cause of more bloodshed in this land…" Rachel sighed as she stared at the window at the approaching village.

"Rachel Barbara Berry look at me….you are a kind and generous lady, with killer legs and there is no way they won't all fall in love with you"

Rachel giggled

"Seriously Rach you know they all swing that way here, watch out!"

The two laughed some more and Rachel temporarily forgot her fears. But then sadness grew.

"I am going to miss you Kurt, can't you stay with me?"

"You know I can't Rach…who will look after your fathers" The boy smiled sweetly at his cousin. The pair gave each other a bittersweet smile and hugged as the carriage pulled to a stop. The carriage drive peeked his head through the back window and huffed "we're her your highness"

Rachel breathed deeply as she surveyed the outside village, which was hardly a village in her mind. She saw huts made out of anything and everything you would expect to find in a forest and although they were impressively large and sturdy looking they did not compare much to her palace. She could see many of the tribe's women approaching the carriage with curiosity in their eyes. They were all so tall and beautiful she thought to herself as the crowd grew larger.

Rachel suddenly became very conscious of her dress and all she had packed as she looked at the women wearing barely any clothes and what they did wear reminded her of the dress worn by the ancient Greek warriors she had seen in school books. Then she looked down at her flowing white dress and golden arm bands and knew she would stick out like a sore thumb.

"Rachel stop your daydreaming you have to go" Kurt gently pushed the scared girl towards the carriage door. "I will see you in a few weeks once this whole thing blows over" Rachel nodded at the boy and gave him one last hug before making her way out of the carriage.

She was immediately greeted by an older regal looking woman who gave her a small curtsy before saying "welcome your highness, we are so pleased you have arrived safely. I am the leader of this tribe Judy Fabray. We met once before when you were much younger" Rachel smiled and nodded in response. Even though she usually loved the attention of the crowd at this moment it was all a bit much for her.

But she knew she had to address this group that had formed around her. She began to speak to all the women "I would just like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking me in during this difficult time. I know you are putting yourselves at risk to help me and I will never forget the mercy you have all shown". The group smiled and gave general comments of "welcome" and "for Lima!" But one girl caught the eye of the princess.

A brooding blonde stood next to Judy looking unimpressed with the Rachel's arrival. Rachel was immediately taken aback by how beautiful this girl was, her brown eyes mesmerized the brunette. The two shared an odd moment just staring at one another. The crowd began to disperse when Judy noticed her daughter and the princess's intense stare.

"Oh your highness"

"Ummm…I think out here you could probably just call me Rachel" The short girl told Judy.

"Oh yes..Rachel…this is my daughter Quinn, you two would have met when you were both very young. She is the same age as you and she has offered to help you settle in here"

Quinn visibly rolled her eyes at her mother's lie about her "offering to show the princess around". This was not lost on Rachel as she fidgeted awkwardly with her dress. Judy nudged Quinn with as she stared her down. Quinn gave in and brazenly put her hand out to shake the shorter girls.

Rachel was shocked. No one had ever shook her hand, everyone knew it was formality to curtsy or bow to the royal family. But Rachel took her hand and shook it because she didn't know what else to do.

"Nice to meet you again Princess" Quinn said casually with a cocky self-confidence. Rachel was taken aback. She had never been treated so casually. But she didn't dislike it, she was just confused by it.

"Nice to meet you Quinn I am sorry I don't remember our first encounter but I am pleased I will be getting to know you and you fellow women over these next few weeks…and please call me Rachel"

Quinn smirked a little at the princess's odd way of speaking. She had expected the Princess to be more of a Diva as the rumors went but this girl seemed the opposite. _She must just be tired from the journey I'm sure her divaness will come out soon enough_ Quinn thought.

"Ok princess"

Judy gave her daughter another annoyed nudge and turned to Rachel "now Rachel you and I will meet tonight to discuss some logistical issues of you being here. We will also have a safety briefing with the Warrios tonight. You will be sleeping in one of the single huts next to Quinns and in the morning Quinn will take you through the village and help you understand how it all works here. You will also be given a role in the village tomorrow. Every women here must work for her place"

"Well she is obviously not going to be a Warrior" Quinn quipped looking at the girl's small frame.

Rachel looked confused for a minute then understood and tried to stand taller stretching her body up slightly

"Well…no we can't have you fighting with us it is too dangerous…but we will find you a role. Does this all sound OK to you your high….I mean Rachel?"

"Yes it sounds completely reasonable Judy"

"Great well come with me then. Quinn we will see you in the morning"

Quinn nodded and began walking away but quickly whipped her head around and said pointedly to Rachel "Better get a good sleep princess tomorrow you are going to work" Rachel frowned at the girls sarcastic tone but tried to shake it off. Why did this Quinn girl dislike her so much? She worried about what tomorrow would bring and dreaded spending it with this girl who seemed to hate her.


End file.
